Weekly policy snapshot of Chinese economy

Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 12:17:21|Editor: huaxia
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BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The following are the key takeaways of the major economic decisions announced by the Chinese authorities in the past week.

-- Tariffs on imported U.S. products to be increased

China on Monday announced that it will raise the rate of additional tariffs imposed on some of the imported U.S. products from June 1.

China had earlier imposed additional tariffs on 60 billion dollars worth of U.S. imports, the rates of additional tariffs on some of the products will now be increased to 25 percent, 20 percent, and 10 percent, according to a statement by the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council.

-- List of products eligible for tariff exemption to be unveiled

China announced Monday that it will compile and release a list of imported U.S. products eligible for exclusion from the additional tariffs after examining the applications of relevant interest parties on a trial basis.

Based on facts and data, the applications must be able to reveal the difficulties in seeking substitute products, the severe economic damages suffered by applicants, the major negative structural impact on relevant industries including that on industrial development, technical advancement, employment and environmental protection, or serious social consequences, the commission said.

-- More support for debt financing for green projects

China will support the issuance of debt financing instruments in the pilot zones for green finance to facilitate green projects, the central bank has said.

Non-financial firms in the green finance pilot zones will be encouraged to issue a variety of debt financing instruments including asset-backed securities to raise funds for energy conservation, environmental protection, pollution control and other green projects, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in an online statement Monday.

-- Standards for green technology innovation enterprises

China will formulate standards for green technology innovation enterprises, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said Tuesday.

Placing more emphasis on green technology innovation, China has vowed to see the emergence of 10 leading enterprises in the field between 2019 and 2022, with each boasting an annual output of above 50 billion yuan (about 7.31 billion U.S. dollars), according to a guideline issued by the NDRC and the Ministry of Science and Technology.

-- Faster and cheaper internet services to boost economy

China will extend gigabit broadband connection to more than 300 cities and cut the average service rates by 15 percent for small and medium-sized enterprises this year.

The decision was made at the State Council's executive meeting on Tuesday in an effort to achieve multiplying effects of expanding domestic demand, boosting employment and improving people's lives.

-- New measures to cut industrial electricity costs

China's top economic planner unveiled new measures to cut electricity costs for industrial and commercial users in the latest effort to reduce business burdens.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said the fees for funding major hydropower projects will be reduced by 50 percent to lower electricity costs.

-- Approving 160 SOEs in pilot mixed-ownership reform

China has chosen 160 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in its latest pilot mixed-ownership reform scheme, according to the country's top economic planner Friday.

The fourth batch of the pilot mixed-ownership reform program, involving 107 centrally-administrated SOEs and 53 SOEs managed by the local authorities, was approved at a recent meeting of the State Council leading group for SOE reform.

-- Simplifying approval procedures for crude drug import

China has released a guideline to shorten approval procedures for crude drug imports, according to the National Medical Products Administration Friday.

Provincial drug inspection bodies will replace the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control as the approval authorities for crude drugs imported for the first time, whereas the approval procedures for those imported a second time will be shortened according to their risk levels. Enditem

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